by Amber
(Arkansas)
First of all I would like to say forgive me in advance for any grammatical or typographical errors you may find in my my message, its 3:33 a.m. and im a bit loopy and slightly out of it, which brings me to my problem.
I have a 4 month old Yorkshire terrier, named Gucci who is the Love of my life.
He is the first thing I tend to when I wake up, and come home from work, and the last thing I tend to before I go to sleep at night.
We go on walks, play fetch, and cuddle on the couch whenever the opportunity presents ltself (which is quite often).
When I go into a store, regardless of what I am there to buy I always find myself slipping off to the pet section for an extra toy or treat to surprise my little prince with.
In a nutshell I try to be a good mommy to my pet, which is why it pains me to proceed. I have owned Gucci since he was 9 weeks old and have been crate training him every since I bought him home.
I purchased him a very small crate, (he is only 3 lbs and about a foot lng) that he could only stand up in and turn around in.
I keep him on a very consistent feeding and watering schedule, and we go to the potty at all the obvious times (when he wakes up, after feeding, frequently throughout the day, and before going to bed.
He is normally pretty awesome @ going outside and im sure to give him plenty of praise when he goes outside (smiling, cheering, clapping, petting, and even throwing in an occassional treat)
However there are the times that he pees and poops in his crate that are driving me nuts.
I dont know why he does it as I present him with many opportunities to go outside, but there are still times that he feels the need to make a mess in his crate (at least 3 to 4 times a week) and im tired of it.
After cleaning poop and pee well between 30 or 40 times, im just at my wits end. I know to clean with vinegar to get the his scent out, but obviously that doesnt work.
I even get out of my bed in the wee hrs of the morning to take him out, which is why im up right now.
He whimpered a lottle bit around 2:30 to let me know he had to go, as he does every now and then, I took him out, watched him trot to “his spot”, squat, you know, go through the normal routines.
We come in, he goes in his crate and within 5 minutes, poops and pees all over everything (small blanket and plush toy).
I was so frustrated, I yelled, forgive me, it was 2:30 a.m at that point.
I removed his toy and blanket and made him sit in it for a few minutes (15-20).
I finally broke down and from 2:45 am to 3:45 I proceeded to clean his crate, give him a bath, (did I mention its 3:00 am at this point) and get him situated so he could go bk to sleep.
This can’t keep happening. I want a puppy who can walk around the house and be a part of my family, but Gucci seems to be regressing.
I love him, but I feel like im doing something wrong and am soooo OVER cleaning a poopy, pissy crate each day.
If there is any HELPFUL advice you can offer that could help me alleviate these problem I would really appreciate it.
Its obvious I really care for my baby otherwise I wouldnt be up at 4:00 am blogging about him, so please spare me the judgemental and ctitical comments that really wont do anything to help my situation.
Im simply looking for positive, encouraging advice top make me and my puppys life, better.
P.s.
1. He’s been to the vet, no medical issues
2. He did not come from a negligent breeder, she kept them inside, 1 litter, plus mommy, and was in the process of paper traing, there was a seperate area for eating, sleeping and pooping.
Thanks for listening!
Potty training
Hello and welcome to the world of Yorkies. I have been a mom to my Yorkie, Romeo, for over 2 years now. Romeo came home with us when he was only 10 weeks old and I am happy to say he was house trained in 1 day.
Before we brought him home from the pet store we would visit Romeo daily for play time. We noticed that every time he was placed in the playpen he would eliminate so we asked one of the ladies for a towel. Within a few minutes Romeo walked over to the towel and used it.
When I brought him home I put a towel where I wanted him to go (in the house). It didn’t take him long to realized that’s where he had to do his pee and poop. After about a week I purchased a supply of wee wee pads and tossed the towels.
I always keep a clean wee wee pad out for Romeo and tosses after he uses (we get two uses per pad). Romeo has never been locked in a crate which means that he is free to “go to the bathroom on his wee wee pad” whenever he has the urge. I wipe Romeo every time he pees or poops and after 2 years he’s so accustomed to this that he will stand and wait at his wee wee pad for me to wipe him.
I don’t know about your living situation but you may want to try leaving your Gucci to roam around the house freely and keep a wee wee pad in a convenient spot where he can relieve himself. Romeo will never go outdoors. I can keep him out for hours on end and he holds “it” until he gets home!
I purchase the wee pads from freshpets.com and a case of 100 — they are extremely absorbent — is I believe less than $25.
Please let me know if the wee wee pads are working.
Hang in
Tough situation not sure what is going on but with my Charlie I kept him outside longer and it seemed to work. also changed from a crate to a puppy litter box
Don’t give up on your yorkie
If your Yorkie is small, they probably can’t hold it too long.
Get a wee wee pad and dab some of his pee in it and put it on where you want him to go.
For bedtime, you can always use a bellyband if he accidentally pees.
As for poo, maybe a longer walk time before bed? I walk my yorkie at least 30 mins before bed.
Patients and disipline for your yorkie!
My yorkie, Ace, had a very similar problems. I got him as a gift when he was 10 weeks old.
Being a nursing student I didn’t think the time was right but I fell in love.
After a month or two of using the training pads and failing I decided to start getting consistent with going outside.
It was just so hard because he was so tiny! For months I did kennel him most of the day, when I couldn’t give him my undivided attention.
The only pro that came out of that was how good he does in his kennel.
At 1 year old, he was spending most of his time behind a baby gate in my hallway because he could not be trusted! He would potty anywhere anytime!
After about two months of keeping him leashed to the gate and leashing him outside to potty, with lots of fussing and disappointment shown, it kind of clicked for him.
The vet always said he may be a year before he can really understand. She was right! He’s now a year and 5 months and is doing great!
Occasionally he will poo inside, only if it is raining because he is a princess when it comes to getting his way!
Overall it look a lot of sweat and tears but we made it! Good luck to you and Gucci! Patients and discipline was key for me!
Don’t give up…tips and hints!
I just recently adopted a Yorkie, not knowing ANYTHING about this breed!
He is around 1 year old and not trained at all. This breed is known to have potty training problems.
At around 1 year, MoJo still has to go every hour on the hour and he is a large yorkie!They have small bladders.
Take him outside, go to a spot he likes to pee/poo and stand there. DO NOT walk him around the yard! Let him walk around you as you stand there,all the while repeating to him, do potty,whatever word you choose.
DO NOT play with him or sweet talk. If after 15-20 mins he hasn’t done potty, take him in,crate him right away,no scolding.
Leave him for 2-3 mins, then take him back out to the same spot, repeating the word that will be a signal to go in future.
NEVER let a dog sit in it’s own urine or poo or it might just well get used to it and may never be housebroke!!!
Also, have you tried letting him sleep with you? Most times a dog will stay all night and never move when they are with the ones they love.
In the 2 weeks he’s been here, Mojo is broken. He sleeps with me and hubby, my doxie Penny, and stays put all night!
Only times he has gone on the floor is when I have left the house. I came back to find puddles near my front door.
This is a seperation issue for Mojo, as my hubby was here and he sat and whined for me.Now I crate him when I leave to prevent this problem.
Try to let him be OUT of the crate as much as possible but leave the door open for him to go in if he wants when you r home.
Also use an enzyme based cleaning spray for his crate. Spray the whole crate, throw away the bedding if it’s been soiled on and rinse, then dry.
Buy a spray called indoor/outdoor repellent OUT! After crate is clean and dry, lightly spray the crate with this and allow to dry. No matter how U wash the bedding, the poo/pee smell is still in it. That’s why it’s best to chuck it for something new and CHEAP until no soiling the crate.
U might also consider using the crate as a place for his litter box if all else fails and getting him a second crate or carrier to sleep in.
No dog likes to defacate where they sleep and eat. Just some ideas for ya. I called this intense training with Mojo, Bootcamp as I didn’t let up with taking him out every 20-30 minutes the 1st week, standing in 1 spot, telling him over and over peepee-poopoo and as soon as he squats to pee or poo, praise him then, not after he is done.
Dogs like returning to the same places to do business but I use a retractable leash so he can wander a bit while I stand still.
Also, after he is done business, walk him a little then. This is a reward! Some dogs will hold it if they think it will get them more walking, playing and sniffing time outside,LOL, leading to pottying on your floor or in the crate when back inside, and please give him enough time to potty in the 1st place.
Most dogs will pee right away when taken out, but poo takes about 10-15 mins after he pees.